Labyrinth of the Five Castles
by Lady Promethia
Summary: My story on a possible alterntive for the Ronins. Also has a small possible back Story on Talpa's Origins. Rating for language. Please read and Review, no flames!
1. Introduction and Warning

I do not own any of this except for the sisters and the faerie king stuff. This was inspired by a marathon night of watching too much _Ronin Warriors_ and _Labyrinth_ back to back.  This is sheerly a work of ficticuous musing, so don't sue me!  Please Read and Review!


	2. Prolouge

Prologue

               Lorrie stood in the shower lavishing under the steady stream of water hitting her skin.  _This feels so beautiful.  She thought to herself.  The door to the apartment slamming interrupted her reverie._

               "Karrie's home."  She said aloud.  The hermit crab on the shelf went back into his shell at the sound of Lorrie's voice. She turned off the shower and looked at the hermit crab cowering in his shell. She stuck her tongue out at the crab.

               "You are a fine companion indeed Crabby. Karrie named you appropriately."

               "I wonder what it is today." She listened and could hear her sister crying.

               "Shit." She said as she wrapped a towel around herself and ran out to the living room where Karrie was crying.

               "What's wrong?" she looked at her sister curiously. Karrie looked up and shrugged.

               "I don't know… I've just really had a bad day." She said as she kicked off her shoes. Her coppery hair falling in front of her eyes. "This college thing is totally killing me."

               "Oh… is that all? I could have told you that." Lorrie said and went to her room to get dressed.

               "You are a heartless bitch, you know that."

               Lorrie giggled and replied, "It's my specialty…  What are you doing tonight?"

               "What? What do I always do on Friday nights? I hole myself up here and worry myself to death over you guys. Those dreams I've been having are getting more and more disturbing"  Karrie responded.

               "Well, not tonight.  Tonight you are coming out with us!   We're going clubbing!"  Lorrie said, strutting out of her room in a short leather mini skirt, a blue tube top, black nylons and four inch heels.  She grabbed Karrie's wrist and dragged her to her room.

               "Sit." Lorrie pointed to the bed and Karrie sat.  She raided the other girl's closet.

               "Hmmmm….  Let's see here…. Okay, this will work for starters… This looks good on you."  She said as she threw a plaid dress Karrie's way.  "And then this." A white shirt came flying at her.  "And these," a pair of fish net stockings were next.  "And the final touch."  She came out of the closet with a pair of lace up go-go boots.

               "You want me to wear this?  Who are you and what have you done with my sister.  Last time I wore this you told me you would never let me back in the house again."

               "I've changed my mind about it."

               "Oh."

               "Well?"

               "Well what?"

               _"Get Dressed!"_

               Karrie jumped and looked at her sister suspiciously.  She stuck her pierced tongue out at Lorrie.  Just then, the door bell rang.

               "That will be the others…  now get dressed!"

               Lorrie turned and went to answer the door.  Karrie could hear the other three girls enter and flop down in the living room, giggling the entire time.  Karrie smiles as she got dressed.  _Maybe this is what I need.  I do need to get my mind off everything.  But still.  I feel like something is  about to happen._

               Karrie walked out and joined the others.

               "Wow" Kayla, Brenda and Emma responded.

               "Karrie's actually leaving the house tonight!" Lorrie said.

               Emma ran up and hugged Karrie.  Her short blond hair had been slicked down and she had her favorite butterfly bobby pins in her hair.  She stood back and showed off her new dress.  It was a light green and blue dress with little butterflies all over it.

               "Cute dress."

               "We've missed our big sister….  You spend too much time working on homework!"

               "I go out to get groceries."

               "But how can you live without seeing everyone?"  Emma asked.

               Karrie shrugged..

               Lorrie then shoved a leather trench and a purse in her face.  Karrie looked at Lorrie annoyed.

               "Thank you dear sister."  She said and grabbed her coat and purse.  "Whose car is it tonight?"

               "My dad let me have his convertible tonight."  Emma said and swung a set of keys in the air.

               "Well… let's make like the hoochies we are and blow this joint!" Kayla said and ran out the door.

               "I guess we better catch her before she scares some poor old woman to death.."  Brenda said, running out after her.

               "She always finds something to get herself in trouble with." Lorrie agreed, and walked out.

               Emma and Karrie looked at each other and shrugged.

               "I guess we better get going."  Karrie said and ushered Emma out, locking the door behind them.

               "They can't go any where with out me anyways."  Emma grinned as she went towards the elevator.

               Karrie laughed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

               _He looked up at the copper haired girl.  He caught her hazel eyes and she smiled at him._

_               "We've been through a lot… but what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger." She said and wrapped her arms around his neck.  She softly kissed him._

"Kento.  Wake up."  Cye said shaking the other man.

Kento rebuttled by throwing his pillow at Cye.

"I was just having that dream again… and you had to wake me up.  I was just getting to the good part."

"I'm sorry Kento… but we gotta get going.  The guys want to go clubbing.  Go get dressed."

"Get me something to eat while I get ready."  He said as he rolled out of bed.

"What am I your maid?"

"That's what I thought was in the contract…  Where's your little maid out fit?"

"KENTO!!!  Why I auta…"

"Cye… Kento…  Are you guys ready to go yet???  We're gonna miss all the good girls if we don't go now!"  Sage's voice came through the door.

"Just a minute!"  Kento yelled back and went to his suit case to get his clothes.  He opened the case and rummaged through the clothing haphazardly thrown in when he had packed back in Japan.  He found his plaid punk pants and a black muscle shirt.  He then pulled on his Doc Martins , put his wallet in his back pocket, grabbed his jacket and he was ready to go.

"Okay lets go dudes!"  He said and left the room.

"Okay…"  Cye said as he pulled on his leather jacket, and placed his yuori in his pocket.  He then saw Kento's on the night stand by his bed.  He grabbed the other one, locked the room and caught up with Kento and Sage.

"Hey Ken." Cye said and handed Kento his yuori.

"Oops…  uh, thanks Bro"

"Common' guys…  Ryo rented a convertible.  This is gonna be fun."  Sage started going on about the plans for the night.  "I'm gonna get so many phone numbers…."  He continued waving his little black book in the air.

Cye looked at Kento.

"I can't believe you wore that.  We're in America, you're gonna get made fun of by male and female alike."

"Do you think I really care?  I really didn't want to come on this trip."

"Remember what Anubis said…  He said that our counter parts would be here.  In plain language, that means your dream girl is here.  Do I have to spell it out for you?"

Kento mumbled something under his breath a quickened his pace to catch up with Sage.

"What did you say?"

Kento didn't answer and jumped in the back of the red convertible.

"All aboard who's going aboard!"  Ryo called out and revved up the engine.

"Hold on to your brains everyone.  Here we go!" Rowen yelled as they left the hotel parking lot.

They pulled out of the parking lot and stopped at a stop light.  A white convertible pulled up next to the guys.  Kento looked over and saw her.  He nudged Cye in the side.

"Look." He said motioning to the other car.

"I am.  I'm liking the red head in the front… the tiny one with the short hair."

"I'm looking at the red head in the back.  She looks familiar."

"Maybe it's your dream girl you keep telling  us about." Sage said and laughed while he was making eyes at the cute blond in the drivers seat..  She smiled a gorgeous smile, blew a kiss at him and speed off as soon as the light turned green.

"FOLLOW THOSE GIRLS!" Sage and Kento said in unison.

Ryo stepped on the gas pedal and caught the car at the next light and started to follow them.  The white car twisted a turned around the streets of the night lit city and finally pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse.

The five guys pulled up next to the girls car as they were going into the warehouse.  Kento caught the girl with the long coppery hair as she went into the building and took in a breath when he realized the plaid of her dress was the same plaid as his pants.

"I wonder where they're going…  this place is deserted."  Rowen said as he jumped out of the car and followed them in to the building.  Kento was right behind him, totally mesmerized by the taller red head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Do you think we'll lose 'em in here?" Emma asked Kayla.

"Sure will."

"Why do we wanna lose 'em?  They're cute!"  Lorrie said

"This place gives me the creeps."  Karrie said, shivers going up her spine.  She looked around, aware of what was around her, looking with both her eyes and her mind.  She could feel the other four girls, the five guys, and then five more presences.  She stopped dead in her tracks and looked ahead of the other girls.

"We're not alone."

"Duh…  those five guys are after  us."  Brenda stated, grinning mischeviously.

"That's not what I mean.  In that room right…"  before she was able to finish her sentience, five "men" in black suits jumped out of the room with bolts of light coming from their hands.  Karrie barely had a scream out of her mouth when she blacked out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kento heard a girl scream and bolted towards the sound.  The other four followed right behind him and got to the corridor the five girls had been ambushed in.  All Kento saw was what looked like a man in a black suit walking in to a room with the red headed girl over his shoulder, and then a bright flash of light.

"They've been captured."

"I'll bet you they're the Five Sisters Anubis was talking about."  Sage said, and ran into the room.  Kento and Ryo ran in behind him.

"They're gone!"  Kento said.

"You think?"  Sage said and began examining the room with Cye looking for the thugs' means of escape.

"You will find no physical evidence of their escape in this room."  Came a voice from seemingly no where.  All five guys looked around the room for the source of the voice.

"The evil sprites of the Farie King have kidnapped the five sisters and taken them to The Labyrinth of the Five Castles."  The voice came from a floating orb in the center of the room.

"Who are you?"  Ryo asked cautiously.

"A friend."  The voice responded and all five men were enveloped in light and they blacked out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kento opened his eyes and looked around.  To his right was Cye's  unconscious form, but in stead of his regular clothes, he was in his sub armor.  Kento sat up and looked down, and noticed he was in his own sub armor.  He then looked around, taking in his surroundings.

"Kento?"

"Ryo?"

"What's going on here?" Kento asked his friend.

"That's a good question."  Both men turned around to see a little old man dressed in red robes.  His beard went down to the ground, smiling he continued.

"Once your friends awaken, I shall tell you the legend of the Labyrinth and The Five Sisters.


	3. Chapter 1: The Legend

Chapter 1:  The Legend

               As the rest of the Ronin Warriors woke and the little man sat on a little stone stool in the middle of the court.  He looked around and got a curious look on his face.

               "Do you five know why you are here?"

               "I think it has something to do with those five girls from the white convertible."  Sage said, leaning against one of the walls.

               "Ah…  you mean the Five Sisters.  Yes, yes…  And I suppose that you would like to know about the legend of the Labyrinth."

               "You just told us you would tell us."  Ryo said.

               "Yes I did, and I shall.  But first I will tell you a poem."  The old man continued.  "You may find this part familiar…"

"Torch Of Spirit, Sought Through Five,  Drinking Strength From Immortal Fire,  The Darkest Prison Sheds The Light,  Churning Beneath A Swirl Of Salt,  Burning Within A Throne Of Rock,  Floating Amongst the Eyes of The Ages,  Unmoured in the Sky…  These are the Kings of Five."

"Except for that last part, it's Mia's Grandfather's poem."  Cye said.

               "But I'm not finished."  The old man interjected.  "So let me continue."

               "Sorry sir." They all responded in unison.

_"The Castle of Eternal Fire. The Castle of the Echoes. The Castle of the Seven Seas. The Castle of the Sylvain Earth. The Castle of the Four Winds…  Five points to make the whole."_

_"The five sisters of the Fire's Circle, Call their Kings to them one by one. The Sister Queen of Virtue calls the King of Wildfire. The Sister Queen of Wisdom calls the King of Halo. The Sister Queen of Trust calls the King of Torrent. The Sister Queen of Justice calls the King of Hardrock. The Sister Queen of Life calls the King of Strata… Together the ten shall rule the world in peace and harmony unmatched "_

               "I'm guessing those are the Five castles in the poem."  Kento said, pointing to the castles they could see just over the walls of the courtyard they were in.

               "Correct my young friend." He said smiling.  "and now you must listen to the legend."

               "Is this going to take long?"  Kento asked, longingly starring at the castle casting and orange-gold haze around itself.

               "I see that the Sister of Justice is awake and calling for her King.  She is the strongest in powers, but the weakest in mind.  She may have been influenced by the Farie King in doing his bidding."

               "Powers?"  Kento asked curiously.

               "In the mortal realm, she is called a witch.  And she is the most powerful out of the five sisters."

               "She's a witch? Cool."  Kento said.  He closed his eyes and just cleared his mind.  Suddenly he saw the red head from the convertible sauntering toward him, giving him an inviting smile.  He "looked" her up and down.  Her hair was pinned up in a crown with his symbol from his armor carved into a piece of topaz in the center and the lose curls spiraled down from the side of her head.  She was dressed head to toe in a gold dress which left so much skin exposed that it left little to the imagination.  His blue eyes locked with her hazel eyes, and she blinked.

               "Come join me my king.  We can rule everything together."  She said as she reached out and ran her fingers along his cheek bone.  She then leaned forward and kissed him lightly.  "Come to me Kento of Hardrock."

               He opened his eyes to see Cye right in his face.

               "Are you okay Kento?"

               "AHHH!!!!  Get out of my face dude!"  Kento demanded, jumping back.

               "Alright man.  I'm back!"  Cye said defensively.  "I was just trying to make sure you were alright!"

               "Settle down!"  the little man demanded.  "Now listen…  what I have to tell you of the legend will save your lives in the labyrinth.."

               The five men sat down and listened to the old man.

               "Now I'm sure you know about the battle between Talpa and the one call The Ancient, but what you don't know, is that once, when Talpa was mortal, he was good and he ruled peacefully with his wife, a woman who was called Allundra.  Together they had six children.  The oldest two a set of twins, a boy and a girl with coppery red hair, the boy having one blue eye and one green eye, the girl having golden-hazel eyes.  The girl was named Kyandra and was raised in the practice of Earth Magic.  Her brother was named Anubis, and he was trained in all the fighting skills that his fathers generals could teach him.  Then They had a second Daughter, Lyanda, whom was trained in the practices of Water Magic.  Next they had their third daughter Kelletta, whom they trained in Air Magic.  Then cam their fourth daughter Barella, who was trained in Fire Magic, and finally they had their last daughter, Erella, who was trained in Soul Magic."

               "Anubis?"  Cye asked?  "As in the former warlord of Cruelty Anubis?"

               "Correct.  But I shall get to why he hasn't told you any of this himself."

               "Anyway…  As I was saying… Each of the sisters were trained in the magic of the element which ruled them.  And while Allundra was carrying the youngest of the sisters, Talpa, decided to build each of the girls a Castle, from which they could rule the kingdom from, together with  the men they chose to be their kings.  Now, Kyandra, being the oldest, was the first to be courted and she was courted by many of the kingdom's finest and strongest men.  And she had set her eyes on a visiting merchants son from another land, but Anubis, being her twin would have the final say on whom was worthy of his sisters hand and challenged all who came to a test of strength and wits, and this included the merchants son.  You, my friend Kento, are the incarnation of that young man."

               Kento looked at the old man and shrugged.

               "Goes to show, even in past lives, I had good taste in women."  And he grinned and continued to stare past the old man's shoulder at the gold castle beyond the old man's shoulder.

               "Now, with Lyanda, she had taken a secret interest in one of the palaces cooks, and would spend hours in the kitchens talking to the young man.  When palace guards weren't looking, the two would steal away to the beach to be alone with each other and talk and laugh and swim with each other."

               "And I supposed that man was me."  Cye said, motioning to himself.  The man smiled and nodded, continuing his story.

"The third daughter, Kalletta, had started paying attention to one of palace archers, and would spend hours upon hours watching him train secretly, drawing sketches of him while she watched."

               "Me."  Rowen said, again, the old man smiled and nodded.

               "The fourth daughter, Barella, was wild and untamed and would spend days away from the palace in the local village, frequenting taverns and inns.  On one of her adventures, she meet a young man who was a common soldier in her father's army.  He taught her everything he knew about fighting and they became lovers.  She was the one who went directly to Talpa and told him that she had found her king.  Talpa was taken aback by this, but he also expected it from his fourth daughter so her to declare him as her future king and beloved.  This act of rebelliousness by Barella, inspired both Lyanda and Kalletta to ask the same of their father.  And he allowed it."

               "Finally was the youngest and fairest of the five sisters, Erella.  Erella was quiet and had attracted the attention of the handsome son of a neighboring kingdom.  He would come to visit her as often as his duties as prince would allow.  On one visit he went Talpa and asked for the girl's hand in marriage and Talpa, starting to change good to evil at this point allowed it, but only on the condition that the princes kingdom surrender to him and allow him to be the absolute ruler of that kingdom.  The prince did not agree, but instead, went away in the middle of the night with his love, Talpa's youngest daughter."

               "This started a war between the two kingdoms which lasted for years, and finished the transformation of Talpa from good king, to evil tyrant.  The fighting pursued for years with out end.  Then one day, during what would become the final battle, Talpa was killed by the prince, which ended the war."

               "Sage… you always were a big trouble maker."  Ryo teased, then cringed when he got socked in the arm.  "Sorry."

               "After the war, all but Erella's husband had been killed, and as monument to them and as a favor to the four sisters as an apology for the war which had killed their husbands, he finished the five castles, but he had his court wizard put a temporal spell on the land which placed the kingdom in a different existence from the mortal world.  He also commanded that wizard to stay and guard the Labyrinth to help they souls of the ten lovers be reunited.  After he had made sure the castles were completed, he committed suicide, so that his wife's sisters would not have to bear to look at the man who had caused the death of their husbands."

               "Shortly there after, a monk traveled into the land to investigate reports of a mystical armor which had been found by the spirit of an evil spirit.  I believe that you know the rest of the story from there."

               "The Ancient..." Cye trailed off

"And  Talpa…"  Ryo added.

               "Correct." He answered.

               "And you're the wizard."  Sage said stunned.

               "Correct again M'lord."  He smiled.

               Kento was totally enthralled by the golden castle by this time and was having an impossible time not jumping up and running to Kyandra.  Kento was pulled back by the old man placing his hand on the man's shoulder.

               "Kyandra is calling to you, but you must understand, that she is under the power of the Farie King.  She is not the good woman she should be.  It is your job to release her from his power.  But your job will be the hardest because you will be fighting her.  The others will have to fight guardians.  The Farie King has control over her because he derives his power from the same source she does.  The Earth.  What ever you do, you must not let her seduce you over to the his side."

               "Tell us about this Farie King."  Cye asked.

               "The Farie King is their uncle.  His sister was Queen Allundra.  And he wishes to control everything in the mortal world.  But to do that, he must willingly get the sisters and their husbands to follow him.  And he will do what ever he must to achieve that goal."

               The old man looked at Kento.

               "I cannot keep you here much longer, so I send you five out into the labyrinth, just remember, follow the path which matches the seal on your armor.  And do not let the Farie King get the better of you.  What ever you do not let him get control over you.  Particularly you, Kento of Hardrock."

               Kento looked at the old man and thought about what he had just been told.

               "Thank you."  He  said and headed off on to his path into the labyrinth.

"Be careful, your highnesses."  The Wise Man called after the five men.


End file.
